3,421 Shares in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Purchased by BIP Wealth LLC

BIP Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 3,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $332,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Duke Energy by 49.1% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 571 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 2.9% during the third quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,834 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,044,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 7.9% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $597,000 after buying an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.8% in the third quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 20,734 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,830,000 after buying an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 6.9% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 4,239 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Duke Energy stock traded up $0.28 during trading on Thursday, hitting $99.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,174,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,977,887. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.49. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $83.06 and a 52 week high of $100.13. The stock has a market cap of $76.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $94.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.63.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $7.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.24 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.11 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total value of $277,710.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares in the company, valued at $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $101.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Duke Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.62.

About Duke Energy

Duke Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy company in the United States. It operates through two segments: Electric Utilities and Infrastructure (EU&I), and Gas Utilities and Infrastructure (GU&I). The EU&I segment generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity in the Carolinas, Florida, and the Midwest.